Breaking Stereotypes
by chrisspiration
Summary: In which Kurt transfers to Dalton, and crazy ensues. Kurt/Blaine, and plenty OCs.
1. First Impressions

A: Hi, I'm Arti! (**moonycantdance** on Tumblr)

C: And I'm Chan. (**babygirlyoudashit** on Tumblr)

A: So a few months ago, we started this RP-

C: Where I was Blaine,

A: And I was Kurt.

C: We got this idea-

A: to co-write a fanfiction-

C: -that is centered around Kurt and Blaine!

A: Anyway, here it is. So far, we only have the first chapter done.

C: But much more is to come.

A: Many thanks to our beta, Liam (**justwaitaclocktick** on Tumblr)

C: We hope you enjoy. We do not own Glee.

A: Signing out,

C: Chan.

A: and Arti. 3

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* * *

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"Yo, dude, heard about the new guy transferring?"

"What?"

"Oh, yeah! McKinley, right?"

"Aren't they our competition for Sectionals?"

"Totally. Anyway, I heard from somebody-"

"-dad's talking to the headmistress-"

"-be gay?"

"Dunno, also heard that."

"Check your sources."

"Has anybody seen him?"

"Nah."

"No, yeah, I think Blaine mentioned..."

"Blaine?"

"Yeah, Anderson, lead Warbler? Dude, where do you live?"

"With me, sadly."

"Wait, so Blaine knows him?"

"That's what I heard."

"So he's gay?"  
"You can't just assume he's gay..."

"Have you heard Anderson talk about him?"

"No, I just told you."

"He's gay."

"When's he coming?"

"On Monday, I think? Dunno, that's what somebody said."

"He's a senior?"

"No...our year, I think."

"Who, the new guy?"

"You know about this, too?"

"Just saw him leave with his dad."

"What?"

"Who is he?"

"What does he look like?"

"Can he sing?"

"What's his name?"

"Kurt Hummel."

* * *

"I hope he's hot," Jack said, sitting on the side of his bed and swinging his feet.

Ian slowly lowered his cell phone from his face and shot him an exasperated look. Wordlessly, he raised it back and continued to text.

"And I hope he smells better than you."

Ian removed one of his sneakers and chucked it at Jack, who flinched as it hit the wall and bounced onto the floor.

"You only strengthen my point, Sebastian. I smelled your shoe coming as it was flying towards my head… Oh, you know I'm kidding. You smell more like—"

"Shut up, Jack." Ian cut him off, smiling.

"—deodorant," he finished, standing up and placing his hands on his hips. "So there."

Ian raised an eyebrow and stood up as well, walking over towards Jack and standing in front of him, towering over him by a good six inches. "Adorable," he cooed, patting Jack on the top of his head.

Jack glared at him, his face flushing with annoyance and embarrassment. "Well I need to go… find a better friend!" he cried, defiantly, storming out the door with no particular destination in mind, except away.

Upon checking his watch, Ian determined that he wouldn't be gone very long, since Kurt was due to arrive soon, and Jack had been so excited about it all day. He plopped back down onto his bed and grabbed a bag of Twizzlers that he had been hiding under his pillow. Not that Jack would ever touch candy, but the other boys often visited. And they ate everything.

Shortly after he ripped open the pack, Ian heard the rattling of wheels coming down the hall. He munched on a Twizzler and listened as the noise got closer, and then was followed by a fist rapping at the door.

"Come in!" he called, lazily. The door slowly opened, and a slender boy with brown hair propped it open with a suitcase as he entered.

"Hello," Kurt said, smiling brightly. He dragged several large suitcases through the doorway, huffing from exertion.

Ian looked up, blinking once at the new guy; shit, he was gay; at least he certainly looked gay. Huh. Instead, he sprung up from his bed, the springs creaking in time as he raised his hand up to high five him in greeting, which Kurt returned as a reflex, pleasantly surprised by the immediate inclusion from the boy that he was going to be rooming with for the next two years of his life, his face bright.

"Sup, dude. I'm Ian."

A smile stood welcoming on his face and he turned, rubbing the back of his head and snapped off another bite of his Twizzler. "That's your side," Ian pointed to the spare bed, which in a hurried attempt to be cleared for the announced roommate now sat amidst random shirts and textbooks, all of which belonged to him.

"Sebastian, please, a little courtesy to your roommate. How you've managed to pass dorm inspection this week is beyond me," The principal spoke up, her voice slightly exasperated, but an underlying tone of amusement was evident.

"Shre, thng, mish."

"And no food allowed outside the dining hall. That's the sixth time this week." An impish grin followed the warning.

"Surreh."

"Now clean this up and help Kurt get settled. Where's Jack?" Kurt recognized the name of his other new roommate, still awkward in the new environment, not comfortable enough to set his belongings down just yet. Ian gave a noncommitted shrug and popped the last bite of his Twizzler into his mouth. "Well, then, Kurt, I'm sure you'll settle just fine now. Stop by my office anytime if he gives you any trouble." She winked at him. Yes, he definitely approved of this woman. Kurt gave her a small nod and thanked her before the headmistress smiled and turned to leave.

"So." Ian stood there, observing him curiously, already nibbling at another Twizzler, his eyes earnest. "You're gay, right?"

"Y-yes?" The question took him by surprise, and Kurt glanced sideways awkwardly. The blond boy nodded; right, of course. "Why?"

"Nah, just wondering. So is Jack, by the way. I can't believe they're letting you room together, dude. I remember this one time," Ian had slumped back onto his bed now, and watching his snack with much more interest than one should give to food, talking animatedly. "This one time this guy Dan wanted to move in with his boyfriend. It was _epic." _Later on, Kurt would learn that this was a word to be expected often from the other boy's mouth. "-had to sit them down to give them a talk about inappropriate touching below the waist. Nobody let them live it down for months." A laugh.

As he propped up his suitcases against the spare bed, having to kick a few articles of clothing out of the way beforehand, Kurt decided not to point out that he had no plans to engage in a romantic relationship of any sort with this Jack guy, gay or not, and instead gave him a polite smile and nod, taking a seat.

Suddenly, there was a loud clattering coming from the hall that sounded like thunder. Kurt jumped and almost fell over, but Ian sat still, shaking his head. "Well, here he comes," he said, stuffing another candy into his mouth.

The door was flung open, and a small, dark-haired boy raced into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Kurt noticed that he was wearing tap shoes, which had been the source of the clamor. The boy was breathing heavily, but he held out his hand for Kurt to shake. "I'm Jack," he said, smiling shyly, staring at his feet while he talked.

Kurt stood up and took his hand, which trembled a little in his grip. Jack quickly let go and ran to his bed, jumping on top of it and collapsing under a stack of pillows. Kurt blinked and lowered his hand, startled. That was certainly an… interesting welcome.

He casually walked over to Ian's bed and perched himself at the end of it, crossing his legs. Ian was looking from Jack to Kurt and back again, nodding his head as if this were a daily occurrence.

Kurt slowly leaned towards Ian's ear to whisper, "Does he always act like that?"

"Yeah," Ian said, stopping to savor the last bite of his Twizzler. "He's really weird around new people. Don't take it personally, man. Just wait 'til he gets to know you better." Kurt noticed Jack peeking over the side of a pillow at him. Ian raised his voice to normal speaking level as he continued, "He's actually a horny, loud little shit."

Jack glared at him and raised a book to cover his face, nearly snapping and throwing it at his head. But, admittedly, Jack wasn't very athletic, and he would probably end up hitting his new roommate in the face if he tried. And though this roommate, now revealed, wasn't exactly his type, he was still attractive, and undoubtedly gay. Jack's first impression was probably bad enough, so he refrained from giving Kurt a bruise to further it.

"Do we get closet divisors? Because I'll admit I'm picky about my clothes and where they go on the rack," Kurt spoke up to the other two boys, glancing at the wooden furniture against one wall of the room, uncrossing his legs to stand up and take a look.

"Yeah, Jack's on the left, I'm on the right."

"No, I'm on the right."

"What...no, you're not," Ian muttered, looking confused. Jack rolled his eyes and ended up deciding to toss the book at him anyway, now that Kurt was safely out of the way. It hit the wall. "Yo, chill! Well uh, just push stuff around, dude, and get your clothes shmwhar in thur." He started chewing halfway through his sentence, as Kurt sifted through clothes. He could clearly tell which belonged to each boy, and nodded approvingly at Jack's taste, picking out a silk button-down.

"Thank goodness for you," he murmured, going back to his bed, making Jack blush under the attention and smile sheepishly. "What's with the tap shoes, though?"

"I just… I wear them all the time," Jack replied, quietly, hoping that Kurt didn't think it was stupid. "I dance. Tap. Jazz. Among other things."

Kurt nodded approvingly and opened one of his suitcases, lifting out a massive amount of clothes. He squatted on his knees in front of the closet, and began to fold shirt after shirt into the drawers, knowing he'd have little use for them since the uniform policy, but he wanted them with him anyway, when there was a light knock at the open door, and a chiseled, handsome boy leaned against the doorframe, his arm up above his head and a smirk on his face. He nodded up at Kurt. "Hey, there."

"...hi," Kurt replied, straightening up and dusting off nonexistent dust from his lap, looking at his two roommates. Jack sort of hid behind a pillow again and the red tips of his ears were visible; Ian didn't even look up.

"Sup, Kirk?"

'Kirk' nodded at Ian again and turned his attention back to Kurt. "You're the new kid, aren't you? Kurt? I'm Kyle. Kyle Kirkland," he stepped forward, stretching out his hand, which was shaken with raised eyebrows. "Saw you walking in and figured I'd introduce myself." Still that self-awarding smile on his face. Kurt smiled gratefully at him.

"Yes, that would be me. I figure it'll take some time to wear the 'new kid' tag off."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Kurt," Kyle replied, his eyes bright. Who _was_ this guy? "Give me a call if you need a tour or something. I'm a floor above. Senior," he pointed at himself, obviously satisfied with that. Kurt nodded curtly. "See you around, I guess."

"I guess."

"I guess," he echoed, grinning and stepping back, shutting the door as he left.

"…And there goes Kirkland," Ian said, digging into his nightstand for another bag of candy. "Don't mind him.. I should mention, Kyle's gay too. Damn… this room's a gay magnet."

Jack provided no additional comments, squeezing his pillow against his chest and staring at the door, wistfully. "Aw, look. I think Jack's got something for him," Ian said, looking at him adoringly.

"… He's beautiful," Jack squeaked, tearing his gaze away from the door, and then glancing towards Kurt for any agreement.

"Mmmhm," Kurt responded, half-heartedly. He raised an eyebrow and returned to his suitcase, picking up an armful of his shoes.

"Wait," Jack said, his mouth dropping open in mortification. "Are you—? I thought you were… You're actually straight, aren't you? No, you can't be—"

"No, I'm gay," Kurt said, chuckling and lining up a pair of knee-high boots against the wall of the closet. Ian nodded.

Jack furrowed his brow and looked Kurt straight in the eyes for the first time. "Then how can you not realize how delicious that man is?" he asked, realizing that he was already beginning to let his guard down around the newcomer. It was a personal record time, possibly.

"I have my eyes on someone else," replied Kurt, quietly, making his way back to his bed. He figured that he might as well say it, since he was going to be living with these boys for the next two years.

"Ooh," Jack breathed, rolling onto his back. He hung upside-down off the side of the bed, eyes curiously following Kurt. "May I ask whooo?"

Kurt shrugged him off half-heartedly and turned to change the subject when a distance clanging off a bell sent Ian zooming out of the room, forgetting his shoes, which he skidded back for, and then ran off again.

"What just happened?"

Jack laughed lightly and shook his head. "Sebastian loves food… I'm surprised he's so slender. Anyway, that's the bell signaling dinner. I'll take you."

It turned out that the dining hall was in a building opposite the dorms, and they had to go through outside, and in mid-winter, Kurt almost froze to death in his thin white frock and jeans, teeth chattering until they went indoors, and Kurt was met with the sight of four long tables where students sat, seemingly divided by years, mostly, and a teacher's table. Boys were scrambling inside, some diving into food right away like his new roommate, whom the brunette spotted between a mass of heads stuffing down a chicken wing. "You eat here every day?"

The awed tone of Kurt's voice made Jack laugh lightly, looking up at him with shining eyes and nodding, excited to have the upper hand knowledge of the situation and made his way between two of the tables, constantly shoved by hungry teenage boys; Kurt tried not to feel scandalized about the food flying. "Is there no order?"

"Boys!" a stern voice called out, and the hall immediately fell silent. "Please take a seat and cease the monkey act." Recognizing the headmistress, Kurt nodded in approval at the low murmur while everybody scattered to find places, and was about to sit down next to Jack when a hand waved at him from the opposite side of the table; the face connected to that hand was pleasingly familiar.

"Kurt!"

Blaine had spotted Kurt across the table, and instantly, a grin crept across his face. He called at him, waving, as he stood up and walked over to him. He took a seat next to Ian, realizing that he was still grinning.

"Oh," Kurt said, startled, resting a hand on his cheek, which he knew had become lightly flushed. "Hi," he said, the corners of his own lips turning up.

"I see you've met Ian," Blaine said, nodding his head and greeting the blonde, whose mouth was occupied with a large slice of pizza. "And Jack." Jack was lost, gazing at something elsewhere. He opened his mouth and raised his fork, which missed and poked him on the chin. "Lovely to see you too, guys," Blaine murmured.

Kurt nodded and smiled. "I just got here a few minutes ago, but yes. I'm already settling into our room." He glanced at Jack and then attempted followed his gaze, which led him to the handsome brown-haired boy from earlier. Kyle, was it? He quickly looked away.

"I would have greeted you earlier, but I had an exam," Blaine said, sadly, and then he turned to see what the two boys were looking at.

It was Kirkland.

Burning annoyance built up in Blaine's chest, but it began to dissipate as he saw Kurt turn away, disinterested.

But… was he disinterested? Kyle was attractive enough that Blaine doubted this.

Kurt pushed his food around his plate and then removed his napkin from his lap. "I'm not hungry," he determined, uncrossing his legs. "And I need to meet with my professors anyway. Makeup work. Easing into the curriculum, and all that."

"Mmmff. That sucks!" Ian laughed between bites, awarding him a raised eyebrow and annoyed look from Blaine.

"Oh. Well, good luck Kurt," Blaine said, giving him an encouraging grin. "Not like you'll need it, though." He winked, which led Jack to choke on a lettuce leaf.

After Kurt had stood up and left to throw away his plate, Blaine turned to Ian and Jack. "Please treat him kindly," he said, looking at them both, although he doubted that either had a truly mean bone in their body.

"Goes without saying," Jack chirped, combing his fingers through his bangs.

Ian set down his drink and lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah. 'Course, Blaine."

"Just a reminder," Blaine said, looking away from Ian and brushing off his blazer. "I'll see you two around, then." With that, he stood back up to go to Wes, who was giving him a cocked eyebrow, his gaze following Kurt as he left the dining hall, and turned to ask something to his friend.

Ian licked his lips. "Pass that green sauce?" he nudged Jack, pointing to it. The brunette took a sniff from it and shook his head. "You're allergic to peanuts."

"Oh, right. Pass the yellow one, then?"

"Pepper."

"Damn it."

* * *

Later on, Kurt returned to his dorm room, teetering beneath the heaps of papers and textbooks on his arms, and kicked the door closed, dropping everything onto his bed with a deep breath, and ran his hands through his hair, wondering when he was going to have time to do all of this by the time it was due.

"Kurt?" Ian peered around the bathroom door, toothbrush in mouth, and uniform tie slung around his shoulders. He waved at him until he spotted the stuff on his bed. "Holy-oh, dude, I feel for you."

"And that's only five classes," he sighed, dropping down onto his covers, causing the pile of textbooks to peak over. "Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be in one?"

"Uh...yeah. But it's Health, and nobody listens to Frannie anyway." The blonde spat out into the sink and rinsed his mouth off, then patted it dry with a towel, clapping Kurt on the back. "You got your schedule yet?"

The countertenor nodded and took out a folded piece of paper from his blazer pocket. "But I was given this day off to settle in—hey!" Ian had snatched the schedule and was muttering under his breath to see which classes they had together. "Oh, you're in my P.E class. Sweet. Wait, advanced math, advanced French, English AP, what _are_ you?" he looked horrified, and Kurt flushed, taking it back.

"Never mind that, get to class."

"English AP." Ian's face lit up, remembering something, and smirked at Kurt. "That's Blaine's class." He ducked around the doorway with a snort to avoid the pillow being tossed at his face.

Kurt felt a fluttering in his chest and sighed, exasperated, turning the corner to meet Ian's gaze. "Is it really that obvious, Ian?" he asked, defeated. Although Ian looked like a dumb blonde on the outside, he was very perceptive.

"I'm good with these things," he mused, tossing an apple core over his shoulder and into a trash bin. "You obviously have a thing for him."

This was disastrous.

Could he even trust Ian? They just met today. And if Blaine somehow found out about this… Kurt blushed at the thought. It would be the end of the world, surely. He'd have to transfer schools – again. No, he'd have to leave Ohio forever, or else he'd be tormented by endless mockery.

"Just—just don't tell Jack, or anyone else, okay?" Kurt pleaded, nervously. "Please. I can't—"

"Alright man, whatever," Ian interjected, nodding. "I have to get back to class though." He tightened his tie and tossed his book bag over his shoulder. "Later!"

As Ian left, Kurt dragged himself over to his bed and collapsed onto it, ignoring the math textbook that was poking him in the ribs. If Ian was able to tell so quickly, who else had noticed? Had Blaine noticed?

Kurt gasped at the thought and shoved his head into a pillow, trying not to scream. No. It couldn't be.

He tried to calm himself down with the fact that Blaine didn't seem to have noticed. And that Ian had seemed rather cool about it.

And that Blaine was in his English class.

With a newfound enthusiasm, Kurt reached towards his English textbook and started on his makeup work.

He had become so absorbed in it that when the bell rang, signaling that classes were over, he jumped and almost fell off of his bed. There was loud rustling, quite like lunch time, as boys ran out of classrooms, and lockers slamming around, making Kurt wince. He was still jumpy whenever he heard that, it-well it brought back memories he was trying to forget. The door opened a little while later, and he closed his textbook, expecting to look up to a blonde head or lean body, but instead meeting dark curls. "Blaine," he said, surprised, sitting up.

The senior grinned down at him, and behind him stood another boy, taller than the pair of them, and bright blue eyes. "I hope we're not interrupting anything important," Blaine greeted him, moving into sit on Jack's bed as the other boy came in as well. "Kurt, this is Chase, Chase, this is the guy everybody's been going on about all day."

Said guy blushed to his ears and smiled at the straight brown haired boy, who sat down next to Blaine and nodded at him. "It's nice to finally meet you," he said honestly, and Kurt noticed he had dimples around his mouth when he smiled. "I suppose you'll be joining the Warblers?" He shared a look with Blaine that made Kurt stop in his tracks.

Wait a second.

"I'm opting for auditioning, yes," he replied softly, his confidence wavering for a second and he glanced at Blaine, who was smiling at him, encouraging. Blaine had never spoken of this _Chase _person_._ "I'm not sure if I will, though. I guess I...it feels like I'm betraying my team."

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's all friendly competition after all," Chase told him warmly, with a small smile, flicking his head to get his bangs out of his eyes. Kurt wasn't sure he liked him that much. "My boyfriend's in his school's glee club, and we compete all the time. No hard feelings."

Never mind, Chase was great.

Kurt's smile turned genuine now, and returned his gaze to Blaine. "I'll consider it." Blaine opened his mouth to say something in reply when the door opened and Jack came bounding in, stopping and flushing a little when he noticed the other two boys in the room. He ducked his pointy chin and smiled at them in greeting, going straight to the bathroom.

Two seconds later, Ian banged the door open and nodded at Chase and Blaine, falling back onto his bed, a gummy worm slacking from the corner of his mouth. "Detention again," he groaned, throwing his pillow over his face, muffling his voice. Blaine rolled his eyes. "Oakland?"

There was a muted moan of agreement from Ian's bed, and Jack came out of the bathroom, seemingly trying to figure out where to sit, since his bed was occupied, and ended up at the edge of Kurt's bed, glancing around at the other boys. Kurt looked over at Blaine. "So did you just come here to coax me into the Warblers?" he joked, smiling at Chase, who laughed.

"I was bribed," he defended, raising his hands. Blaine pressed his lips together. "Well, I've heard you sing, and we could use your talent."

"You sing?" Jack piped up, looking at Kurt with interest. The brunette nodded with a proud smile; he could appreciate his own talent, and shrugged at Blaine, though perhaps a little disappointed that he hadn't come to say hello or something- "And, you know, see how you were settling in," Blaine added suddenly, and absolutely nonchalantly.

Kurt had to fight back a smile. "Apart from the mountains of catch-up work I've been assigned, I think I'm okay," his voice was light and pleased, and the other boy nodded.

A phone buzzed and Kurt patted his pants, but it wasn't him. Chase rummaged around his blazer for a BlackBerry and smiled. "I gotta take this. Nice to meet you, Kurt," he informed them, waving and leaving the room with a '_Nate?' _Kurt turned to Blaine and mouthed 'boyfriend?' and the other nodded with a chuckle, seeming undecided about something.

There was a muffled voice from under Ian's pillow, and Jack leaned over to swat it away. "Speak properly, Sebastian."

"What time is it?" came the tired voice from the boy. Blaine was the first to glance at his watch.

"Almost five," he informed him, and Ian jumped out of the bed, cursing repeatedly and hopping around to strip himself off the blazer, until he seemed to remember there were three gay boys in the room and hopped over to the bathroom. Kurt gave Jack a questioning look, which was returned with 'soccer practice' as if it were obvious.

Figures he was a jock. Kurt had to admit the blonde boy kind of reminded him of his step-brother in some ways, though he wasn't nearly as tall. His roommate came out of the bathroom in navy shorts and a matching shirt with a red stripe across it, knee-socks and cleats in hand, blowing away his hair from his green eyes, "Later, bros," he called out, waving as he left the room.

Blaine stood up, and Kurt forced himself not to follow him with his gaze. "I should be going, I suppose," he said casually, folding his hands into the back pockets of his pants. "Jack, Kurt, I'll see you at dinner." Was it his imagination, or did Blaine wink at him along with a smile before leaving?

"So," Kurt said after a while of silence, where Jack stared at his feet, swinging them. "I pride myself in many things, one of which would be my ability to spot a crush a mile away. Kyle, huh?"

The other boy almost fell off the bed. "W-what do you mean?" his voice was squeakier than usual, and he blushed to the tips of his ears.

"Oh, I've seen the way you look at him, and how you get when we talk about him," Kurt replied, smirking, rather pleased about himself. "Do you want him?"

Jack looked at him with puppy eyes and half-shrugged half-nodded. "I suppose, yes."

"You're getting him then." Kurt grabbed a piece of paper from his notebook and tore it out, then picked up a stray pen. "Come on, I set up my dad with the woman he's married to now, I'm rather good at this." Jack's face lit up with a hopeful smile.

"Now, tell me about him."

It was like he'd unplugged Jack's sink of words. "Okay, so he's gorgeous, of course, and ripped, but that's because he's on the swimming team," he started, as Kurt wrote down key words. "He wins every meet, and he's so dedicated to it. I think he doesn't like music—" Kurt scoffed and looked personally offended at that, but waved at Jack to keep going, because the boy had stopped and flushed. "He's really confident and embracing, I suppose, to people he hasn't met..."

"Has he been on your radar for long?" the brunette asked his new roommate with a smile. He knew that rant ability when it came to a crush.

Jack's black locks jumped a bit as he nodded. "I think I've liked him since last year," he replied with a sheepish grin. Kurt nodded; definitely like his own crushes. "And when have you two interacted? Do you meet much?"

"Well, he's a senior," the gray-eyed boy responded, grabbing a pillow from his bed and hugging it to his chest. "So not much. How are you going to do this?" he asked Kurt, obviously hopeful.

Kurt smirked. "Like I said, I'm rather good at this." He stood up and brushed off his blazer.

* * *

End of Chapter One. Hope you guys like it!

xxx

**Artemis & Chan.**


	2. Gaga

A: Finally, chapter two is up!

C: Woot!

A: Yup, so here it is. (:

C: Enjoy.

A: We don't own Glee.

* * *

"—and you need to hand it in by Monday, at the most. I understand that you just transferred, but I can't make excuses forever, Mr. Hummel."

Kurt nodded, tight-lipped, and the professor dismissed him with a wave of a wrinkled hand. To think that passing with flying colors at McKinley would be enough to ace his new courses easily had been the biggest mistake he'd made all week.

The curriculum at Dalton was demanding, varied, and absolutely strict in the majority of courses; Kurt left his Biology class frowning, set on getting to his dorm room and calling Finn to vent and complain about it, which was precisely the moment when a tall, sculpted figure approached him.

"Morning, new kid," Kyle Kirkland caught up with him easily, flashing him a smirk and picking up the textbook he'd been carrying. "Tough day with Hansen?"

Kurt's mind was too preoccupied whirring with his plans to set up the boy next to him with his new dorm mate, Jack, to mind the invasive demeanor of the senior.

"Unbelievable," he scoffed, rounding a corner. "I was just heading to my dorm to meet up with _Jack_." He might have purposefully emphasized the last word, and sent a furtive glance Kyle's way, who apparently was too busy fixing his hair to notice. "Maybe you could join us?"

With a low chuckle, Kyle swiveled around the smaller boy, and leaned against the wall next to them, raising the book above their heads, out of his reach. Kurt's eyebrows shot up. "I'd _love_ to, but I'm afraid I have business to attend to," was Kyle's suave reply.

Damn. Kurt furrowed his brow and held out his hand for the book, which of course, wasn't given to him, and he sighed, stepping forward to get it from Kyle's grip.

"You're missing out," he clucked his tongue and turned away from him. The last glimpse of Kyle's face was that of an amused grin.

Kurt walked back to his dorm, thinking that yea, he could see why Jack was so crazy about him, physically; though for his taste, Kyle's obvious arrogance wasn't something he could tolerate for too long. Nope, _his_ likes were more sophisticated, charming, naturally—

"Blaine!"

Startled out of his thoughts, face flushed, by the familiar voice of David, Kurt whirled on the spot, glancing over his shoulder to see the two boys high five. Blaine spotted him and waved. "Hey!" Kurt stopped walking and waited for the others to catch up; he nodded at David in greeting.

"How were your classes today?" Blaine asked, nodding forward and starting to walk with him, his eyes trained on his face, as if he were interested in every word he had to say. Something Kurt adored about him. Or well, liked, admired.

"Disastrous," he ended up replying, a little more exaggerated than he'd meant. "Or well, the vast majority of my teachers insist that I need to catch up with every piece of homework in the curriculum for the entire semester. In a week. It's impossible."

Blaine slung his arm around Kurt's shoulder, having to raise it a bit since the other was just a few inches taller than him –something Kurt prided quite a bit.

"And hey, I just wanted to let you know," the Warbler nudged him. "Don't worry about trying for the glee club, yet. I was out of line asking you to join when you just got here, and obviously you're swamped. So take your time, alright?"

Kurt gave him a grateful smile as they reached his dorm, freeing himself of Blaine's one-armed hug. "Alright. I'll see you around," he waved at him and David, and the two seniors started talking again, walking off down the corridor.

Turning around with a small smile on his face, Kurt entered his dorm to find Jack waiting for him, as planned.

"Well, did it work?" Jack asked, before Kurt could even finish opening the door all the way.

"Erm, no," Kurt began, closing the door and tossing his bag onto his bed. "He said he was busy. I think… I think it's time for plan b."

"Who's pregnant?" Jack screamed, throwing himself off his bed and running over to grab Kurt by the collar.

"No, I meant—" Kurt sighed, peeling Jack off him and placing his hands on his shoulders. "I think we're going to need to ask him, straight-out, if he wants to go out with you."

Jack sighed with relief, but a new panic flooded his face. "Will you ask him for me? I don't think I can do it. I'm really bad at talking to people. I might pee myself. What if I peed on him, Kurt?" He paced back and forth across the room, rubbing his temple.

"Could you do it for me? Please?"

"I mean, I barely know him—" Kurt started, but melted as Jack looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes. "But fine. Sure. I will. Just calm down."

Of course, he couldn't very well walk up to the senior and offer a date with Jack; subtlety was key. "We need a setting. A motivation," the soprano muttered to himself, and walked over to his bed, leaning on it, against the headboard.

"Can it be a movie date?" Jack asked, perking up hopefully.

Kurt nodded and grinned wickedly. "Then we're going to need..._tickets._"

* * *

If Kurt had thought that Biology at Dalton was hard, it was because he hadn't attended the Literature class. All his life, he had considered himself somewhat of a prodigy among the Neanderthals that were his classmates at McKinley.

At Dalton, he barely scraped by on his first class. The teacher, he'd realized, did not like being contradicted, and opinions were not given out freely in her class. It irked him beyond relief, and when the bell signaled the end of the period, he was the first one out of his seat, making a point of tucking in his chair rather loudly.

"Kurt?"

He looked up and met a familiar face...oh, of course. "Hey, Chase," he replied with a soft sigh. The other boy caught up with him.

"You look like a bundle of sunshine."

Kurt snorted, quite lacking of class, actually, and shook his head, running his hand over his head to push his bangs back. "It's just the studies. 'Prepare to be crushed' wasn't exactly highlighted in the Dalton handbook."

"Ah, what is it, Lit?" Chase nodded sympathetically, hitching his bag higher on his shoulder and glancing over Kurt's to spot his textbooks. Receiving a nod, he continued. "It's honestly quite simple if you can manage not to shove this suffocating tie into the teacher's mouth.; I'm assuming you have Oakland?"

"Which I'm finding hard to do, and yes, I do."

"Ah—" His tone was understanding, and he flicked his head to the side, effectively pushing loose strands of light brown hair out of his forehead. "I got Thorne. He's great."

Kurt shrugged. "It's just something else I'll have to get used to."

Chase stopped when they reached a cross-roads in the hallways and turned to smile at Kurt warmly. "Tell you what. Give me a call if you're having trouble; Lit's my best subject and I have _some_ free time."

"You better mean that, cause I'm taking up on the offer," Kurt laughed, handing his phone to Chase as the other held out his hand and quickly punched in his number.

"You got it," Chase waved a little over his shoulder and disappeared around the corner.

Much more cheered up by the prospect of Lit, Kurt pocketed his phone again and made his way to his next class before he was late. He didn't know who the math teacher was, but if she was anything like Bio and Lit, he definitely didn't want to be tardy.

* * *

To be honest, Kurt had been going over his plan with Jack nonstop in his mind, as well as the ridiculous amounts of homework he had due all day, and had not spared a thought to Blaine or the Warblers since the morning, when they'd met up.

Now that he was free (for a while, at least), however, he remembered the request -as he sat down on one of the couches in the Dalton music room, where a few boys were practicing runs- and decided to give it some thought.

Blaine noticed Kurt and excused himself to the other Warblers, making his way to the couch where Kurt had sat down. "Hey," Blaine said warmly, sitting down next to him. "Have you thought about auditioning? Or are you just here to watch?" He didn't mean to put any pressure on Kurt, but his eagerness got the best of him.

"Oh, hi," Kurt replied quickly, shifting on the couch so he could look at Blaine properly, as the other boy did the same. "I think I will."

"Will?" Blaine prompted.

"Do it. Audition," he elaborated with a little gesture of his hand. "I'm not going to waste my talent just because I'm hesitant as to whether my ex-teammates would approve. Is that bad?"

Blaine laughed and leaned in a little. "Of course not. It would be a shame to see your talent go to waste." He looked away and cleared his throat. "Well, we'd certainly love to have you. The Warblers are holding winter auditions this weekend, as a matter of fact, if you want to give it a shot."

"This weekend?" Kurt raised his eyebrows in surprise. He'd counted on at least a week to be emotionally prepared; Blaine nodded, and he squared his shoulders. "Okay."

"I know it's short notice, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to," Blaine admitted. He saw the way Kurt seemed to tense up and attempted to console him. "But I can help you, if you'd like. I've seen plenty of auditions, myself. And I know Wes well- he's one of the judges. I'm sure you'll do great."

Kurt raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. "Help me how?"

"With song choice, first of all. But it's more than that. You have to perform. An important aspect of being a Warbler is both standing out while fitting in at the same time. I know you're not used to the concept of fitting in with a crowd, so I could be of assistance with that."

Blaine was leaning in comfortably, and Kurt could see him honestly trying to help him out, so he nodded. "I get to veto the song, though. That's my condition. Top 40's just aren't my thing."

"Oh. That might present an issue," laughed Blaine. "Most of the songs I do are Top 40s, and I know that we're doing 'Hey Soul Sister' for sectionals. But of course, you can do whatever you want. Did you have anything in mind yet?"

"Unless," Kurt started, fixing a stray piece of hair behind his ear. "What do you say to Lady Gaga?" he mused.

"Lady Gaga?" Blaine repeated, raising his eyebrows and leaning back against the couch. "Not sure how appropriate that is for an audition. You should showcase your voice as much as possible," he said, but then he remembered that David had auditioned with Ke$ha. And gotten a standing ovation. "But... I can see you making it work."

"Of course I can make it work," Kurt half-scoffed, and smirked despite himself, earning an eyeroll and laugh from Blaine. "I just have to scroll through the songlist now."

"Very well then," Blaine said, standing up. He noticed that the Warblers were nudging each other and rolling their eyes, and some of them appeared annoyed. "I have to get back to practicing, but I'm excited to hear what you come up with. Let me know if you need any help along the way, alright?"

"Will do," Kurt replied with a slight nod, and pushed himself off the couch. He had business to attend to; and by that, he meant get Kyle to go on a date with Jack.

* * *

"Excuse me?" Kurt stopped the nearest senior on the floor by stepping right in front of their path. A tall blonde boy looked at him curiously, and he saw a spark of recognition. "Yes, I'm the new guy. I was wondering if you knew where Kyle Kirkland's dorm room was?"

The senior raised an eyebrow. What was the new kid doing looking for Kirk? Whatever, not his business; he pointed down the hall. "It's the first room at the end, on the right," he shrugged.

Kurt thanked him politely and went down, holding his satchel closer to his body, refusing to be intimidated by the floor of boys a year older than him.

He raised a pale fist and knocked twice on the door. A voice from inside called out 'come in' and he opened it a crack, peering around the frame to look at the insides.

Kyle's dorm was absolutely _impeccable_.

There was an array of large posters lined up on one wall of the room, where a bed was pushed up against it, and his query lay on his back over it.

"Kurt?" Kyle sat up, putting down the iPhone he'd been holding. Kurt blinked a few times. He was shirtless.

"Hi. Um," he was uncharacteristically incoherent. Was the boy _built_. Seemingly having noticed, Kyle propped himself up on his elbows, not doing a thing to hide his chest, and smirked; actually smirked.

"What brings _you_ up here?" he drawled, running a hand through his hair and –oh, god, was he _flexing_ his arm muscles?- Kurt went inside and closed the door behind him, folding his arms tightly over his chest. "I wanted to ask you something."

Kyle made a gesture with his hand to keep talking, that self-satisfied smirk still plastered on his face. "So Jack had tickets to the premiere for this movie. It's supposedly fantastic," he rushed out before Kyle could process it, "-and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us."

It was as if he'd just proposed. Kyle grinned widely, and his pearly white teeth sparkled. Kurt blinked. Seriously? "Like you have to ask," the older boy replied smoothly, sitting up. Kurt mirrored the smile.

He said yes! He wanted to go out with Jack. This was _amazing._ He was a mastermind, his plans were amazing; this was _so_ good.

"Wonderful! I'll let Jack know and I'll let you know where to meet h-us," he gushed, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet excitedly, wanting to rush off to tell Jack _right then._

He was half-way out the door when Kyle stopped him. "Hey, wait!"

Kurt stopped, looking back with raised eyebrows. Kyle stood up from the bed and walked over to him, his pants hanging loosely from his hips. "Where are you going now?"

"Uh, to talk to Jack?"

"C'mon, you just got here. Stay," Kyle leaned against the door, closing it with his back, and winked at him. Kurt pressed his lips together; he _really_ wanted to tell Jack right now.

"Alright, I suppose, but I do have to go soon. I need to figure out which song I'm going to perform for my audition."

Evidently surprised, Kyle raised his thick eyebrows. "You're joining the Warblers?"

"Yes," Kurt replied. "Or well, I'm auditioning, but considering my voice, I'll make it." Kyle let out a laugh. "Confident, aren't you?" he asked the smaller boy, ducking his head to look at him in the eyes.

"Why shouldn't I be?" countered Kurt, stepping back away from him. Invasion of personal bubble was only okay when Blaine did it. Or well...um... anyway, he moved into the room, looking around.

Kyle followed him with his gaze, but stayed where he was, smirking. "Like what you see?" he asked him, and there was definitely an underlying tone to that question. Kurt looked around at the white walls and shelves filled with...trophies of some sort. "What are these?"

"Just remnants of my many victories in swimming tournaments. I'm sort of a national champion." The modesty was overwhelming to Kurt, and he rolled his eyes when his back was turned, nodding, seeming to be appreciating them. He didn't notice Kyle approaching him until he turned on the spot and found himself practically chest-to-chest with him.

A dark red flush appeared on Kurt's high cheekbones, and he raised an eyebrow, looking away pointedly. "Anyway, I should go."

"No, you shouldn't," Kyle replied, and flexed his arms behind the back of his head. Kurt coughed.

"I do. I have to catch up with my um...algebra teacher. I'll talk to you later about the movie, alright?" he side-stepped the taller boy and went out the door.

Kyle smirked and sat down. "Can't wait," he called back, as Kurt quickly left the senior floor, turning on his heel and walked towards his room, a proud smile on his face.

"I'm back," he sang, throwing open the door.

Jack was stretched out on his bed, leafing through a magazine. "Don't say it—I know that he said no. Just help me get my mind off the embarrassment," he said, chuckling darkly.

"Actually, you have a date with Kyle tomorrow," Kurt said, matter-of-factly, sitting down next to Jack.

Jack's eyes widened incredulously, and then closed as he shook his head and laughed. "You're kidding," he concluded. "I question your sense of humor, but—"

"No, Jack, you actually do," Kurt said, smiling at him excitedly.

"I have a date?" Jack gasped, realizing that Kurt was serious.

"… I HAVE A DATE!" he finally exclaimed, launching himself off the bed and jumping up and down.

Kurt stood up, and he wasn't sure who reached out first, but they embraced each other, both of them dancing around and laughing.

They finally let go and collapsed onto the bed. "I'm so happy for you," Kurt said, enthusiastically.

"I can't believe _Kyle Kirkland_ said yes. To _me_!" Jack squealed. "I can't thank you enough, Kurt. I would never have had a chance without your help."

"He said yes to _you_. It's all you, don't thank me," Kurt replied, modestly.

Jack beamed up at him, and Kurt found himself sharing his excitement.

He really liked Jack.

"Come on; let's pick out your outfit."

* * *

It took them about three hours sifting through every item that belonged to Jack in the closet, and then going after Kurt's, since they had more or less the same body type, and tried mix-matching pants and shirts and shoes and socks and how he was going to do his hair, and everything, until they had it down to a T.

"It'll blow his mind away," Kurt decided, nodding in approval at the clothes nearly laid out over the dark-haired boy's bed.

Jack clapped his hands together and grinned at his friend. "Really?"

"That's the _point_," the other replied, holding out his hand for a high five, which was received happily. "Now if you'll _excuse-moi_, I have a date with Blaine."

This statement brought forth a gasp from his roommate, and Kurt quickly amended his words.

"Not a date, I mean...he's going to help me pick out my audition song for the Warblers."

"Oh, you're joining?" Jack asked, awe evident in his expression.

Kurt nodded, standing up and going to the shared bathroom to fix his hair in front of the mirror. "Mhm...or well, I'm auditioning."

Jack followed him and sat on top of the long counter on the bathroom, kicking the heels of his feet against it, swinging his legs. "Well, good luck with that." Kurt sent him a grateful smile across the mirror and stepped back. "I'll see you later, Jack."

With a little wave, he exited his dorm room, and made his way to Blaine's dorm, again in the senior floor, which he was becoming very acquainted with lately, ignoring the way his stomach jumped a little at the thought of being with Blaine again.

* * *

Blaine heard a knock on his door and rose off his bed, jogging over to answer it. "Come in," he said, smiling, as he saw who it was. He gestured invitingly towards his couch and held the door open.

"Okay, so I have narrowed it down to three," Kurt announced himself as he sat promptly on the couch, and folded his legs. He took out some sheet music and laid it out on the table in front of him.

"May I have a look?" Blaine enquired, leaning over to glance at Kurt's selections.

Shifting on the spot, Kurt gestured towards them. "Alejandro, Starstruck, or Paparazzi."

He looked up expectantly at Blaine, who blinked at the sheet music for a moment before slowly nodding and turning towards Kurt. "Could I hear a sample performance? A medley, maybe?"

Wait, what? Kurt felt the back of his neck and ears heat up. "Right now?" He would have liked to say he replied classily, but it was more of a squawk.

Blaine changed his tone after hearing Kurt's reaction. "No, of course you don't have to, I was just curious." He scratched his head and leaned away. "I just thought you were wanting me to help you choose."

"No, no, of course," Kurt immediately countered, pushing all infantile thoughts out of his mind. "It'll be to be acapella though, I don't have the music with me..."

"I could play piano for you," Blaine butted in, eagerly. "There's one in the common room, if you'd like."

"Piano backup for Gaga songs?" Kurt thought out loud, eyebrows delicately raised. "Alright, if you can keep up." He may have sent him a grin that maybe was a little flirtier than he intended.

"Why not?" Blaine shrugged, giving Kurt a half-smile. "Follow me." He held the door again for Kurt before leading him down the halls towards the common room, which was currently vacant, to both of their reliefs.

Kurt glanced at both of their hands hanging at their sides as they walked and then averted his gaze, going straight to the piano in the common room and leaning against it. "Which shall we start with?"

Blaine randomly slid one of the sheets from Kurt's hands as if it were a card trick, and held it up to show him. "Paparazzi," he said, propping it up on the piano and sitting down on the bench. He cracked his knuckles and looked up at Kurt. "Ready?" he asked. Kurt nodded, and Blaine began to play.

Licking his lips once, the pace set a bit slower than the original song, Kurt started.

"_We are the crowd, we're co-coming out, got my flash on it's true. Need that picture of you, it's so magical_."

He lifted his eyes from the papers to smile sheepishly at Blaine. "_We'd be so fantastical_."

Blaine concentrated on reading the sheet music, but couldn't help but to glance up at Kurt several times as he played, almost hitting the wrong notes. He tapped his foot along and danced a little in his seat, thoroughly enjoying the performance.

Deciding that he might as well get it over with, Kurt added a little spring to the song, sashaying his hips only a bit as he sung, still leaning on his elbows over the piano.

"—_but I won't stop until that boy is mine. Baby, you'll be famous, chase you down until you love me._"

"_Papa-paparazzi._"

Blaine politely smiled and applauded him. He looked at Kurt over his shoulder and drummed his fingers on the bench. "That was very nice. Now, on to the others..."

Kurt finished the last note of the chorus of 'Alejandro', the third song they'd tried out, a little breathless, and raised his eyebrows. "So? Which one will get me in?"

Blaine exhaled deeply and tilted his head, gazing at the ceiling as the thought about it. "Honestly, I think that Paparazzi was my favorite of the three."

He paused, realizing what he was saying, and changed directions with his words. "I mean, it sounded the best overall, and I think that the judges will approve of it."

"And yet, there's something to the lyrics that's a little desperate..." Kurt mused, folding his fingers together over the sheets. "I like Starstruck."

"Err, okay," Blaine said, raising his eyebrows. "Sure! That sounds great. It's your choice and all." He stood up to hand Kurt the sheet music and then stopped, looking him square in the eyes.

"... Alright, I'm not going to lie to you. I really think you should do Paparazzi." He took a deep breath and prepared for a verbal beating.

Kurt cocked an eyebrow and took the sheet music, flipping through them. "Why?" he asked pointedly, flicking his tongue out over his upper lip and standing a little straighter.

Blaine suddenly averted his gaze and noticed that his hands were fiddling with his pockets. He spoke without looking at Kurt. "It has a nice vocal range and sounds classy when slowed down. Plus, I believe it's Wes's favorite of the three."

"Hm." The slighter boy nodded curtly and offered Blaine a strained smile. "If it's what will allow me to adapt better..."

"You'll do great," Blaine insisted, placing a reassuring hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Just be yourself." He let go and smiled at him, his eyes searching Kurt's expression.

"I will be," Kurt replied with a more genuine smile this time. "I appreciate your help," he commented.

"Any time," Blaine said, turning to head back towards his room. "I mean it."

Kurt pressed his lips together into another smile and walked out with him.

* * *

It was almost nine when Kurt finally left Blaine and the common room to go to his own room, yawning lazily as he passed through the empty music room. He dropped one of the sheet music papers on the ground and bent over to pick it up; his phone buzzed in his pocket.

With a grunt, Kurt straightened up and picked it up, not checking who it was. "Hello?"

"_Kurt!"_

There was a sound of shuffling on the other line, some hushed arguing, and then the voice again. "_Uh...what's up, dude?"_

"Hi, Finn," Kurt greeted him, confused but not disappointed that he was calling. "Nothing much, actually, I just finished dinner."

Another pause. "_Mom wanted me to call you..."_ Oh, of course. "_So um, how's school?_"

"It's alright, I suppose. Classes not particularly the highlight of my day, and the curriculum is ridiculously demanding, but other than that, I've met nice guys, Blaine's here..."

"_Right, right...that's awesome."_

Kurt resisted the urge to either chuckle or roll his eyes at his step-brother. "I'm auditioning for the Warblers, by the way. If I make it, you should let Rachel and the rest of the guys know...so it's not a surprise if I show up as competition for Sectionals."

"_Wait, what!_" Oh, damn, he'd hoped against this reaction. "_What do you mean you're competition? You can't just...ditch us and play for the other team, dude..."_

"Finn," Kurt said sternly. "I go to Dalton now." Because he really didn't have a good argument, anyway.

It seemed to be either enough for Finn, or he just knew he couldn't win a debate or battle or whatever against him. "_...alright, man. I'll tell the guys._" Another pause. "_We miss you."_

"I left two days ago."

"_Right. Still, though. Rachel said Mercedes was crying in the bathroom or something with Tina this morning..."_

Guilt panged in his chest, and he wished Finn would shut up. "—_and like, dude, even the cheerios miss you. And Puck's been a jerk lately, not that he's not always a jerk but especially jerk-y and he always gets like that when something's bothering him that he doesn't wanna talk about, and from what I've heard, Santana's still putting out, so_—"

Kurt shut Finn's voice off, 'mm'ing and nodding, closing his eyes and slumping against the elegant piano —how many _were_ there at Dalton?— on the far right corner of the music room, running his fingers lightly over the cool keys.

"—_random girl Lauren or whatever, but I haven't even heard her sing. Besides, it's not like_—_"_

"Finn?" Kurt interrupted after a while.

"—_but. Huh?"_

"You're not making this easy for me."

"_Oh, sorry, dude. I'll shut up now."_

Kurt felt a little bad, honestly, Finn was being a good brother, right? "No, it's fine. I...I have to go though. Homework," he lied a little, and tried to sound cheery for the jock's sake. "I'll talk to you some other time, alright?"

A shower turned on in his step-brother's end. "_Sure. Bye, Kurt...uh...yeah, bye."_

Pressing the 'end call' button, Kurt stuck his phone back in his back pocket and sighed. This had been the right decision, coming to Dalton. He'd had to. He was not going to live another day being terrified by Karofsky.

He just couldn't. Checking his watch though, he didn't want to get in trouble for being out after curfew on his first week, Kurt rushed through the hallway back towards his room, thinking about the facial he had due, and how his index finger nail had been edgy, and he needed to file it and-

"Whoa-eeep!"

He collided into something hard, which turned out to be some_one_ who had been sprinting in the opposite direction. The boy had long and curly brown hair, and he gasped as the plastic container he had been holding fell out of his hands and dropped onto the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm so, so sorry," Kurt, who had been staggering on his feet, scrambling to press the papers against his body to prevent them from fluttering to the ground, cried. "Let me help you."

"No, don't," the boy insisted, hovering over the container on the floor.

Kurt looked up and noticed that someone else had been with him. "Chase!" Kurt greeted him, flustered.

"Hey, again," Chase replied, staring at the boy in the ground with an unreadable expression. "Kurt, meet McShrimp. Say hi, McShrimp."

The boy on the floor… Mc… whatever-the-hell… snapped back at Chase, "I'm a little busy right now."

"Oh, I thought you were having a party with those," Chase said easily, bending over to help him out. "Uh… Kurt, you might want to look down."

Kurt slowly brought his eyes to the ground, where he witnessed –hundreds- of insects— crickets, grasshoppers, ants, flies,—all pouring out from the container onto the floor, while… (Christ, what a name)… McShrimp was frantically trying to scoop them back in.

And there were spiders laying eggs on Kurt's Italian-imported, black suede footwear.


End file.
